I have one more post from Mario's Fall Break trip to New York City that I want to share with you. As a special treat, our family went to see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" on Broadway. The show was a blast and Mario absolutely loved it. Mario's favorite part was the Candy of course! At the beginning of the show it was announced that you can eat as much Candy as you want during the performance which prompted Mario to look at me and say, "See Mommy, I can eat as much Candy as I want!".

This show is going on tour and if it happens to come to your city or a city near you, I highly recommend taking your little ones, and if you don't have little ones I suggest going to the performance yourself. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" reminds me of being a kid and I love that Mario has a special memory with the fabulous story of Willy Wonka!

While we were in New York City for Mario's Fall Break we went to The Hayden Planetarium in the American Museum of Natural History. We have visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York in the past, but this was our fist time seeing the Space Show in the Planetarium. Mario is in the Astronomy Club at his school and is pretty much obsessed with everything outer space, so the Planetarium was something we were all really excited to visit during our trip to NYC. We saw Dark Universe, and when the Space Show began Mario thought we were actually blasting off into outer space - especially since the Hayden Planetarium is a sphere floating in the middle of the Rose Center for Earth and Space and it feels as though you are entering a spaceship. We assured Mario we were seeing a movie, but it truly did feel like we were blasted-off into outer space and immersed in space throughout our journey that took place on screen. After the Space Show, Mario got a green rock candy sucker (something he still talks about) and we explored the exhibitions. We had an amazing time at The Hayden Planetarium and can't wait to visit a Planetarium again in the future. Like Mario, I think outer space is infinitely cool!

This past October (for Mario's Fall Break) we went to New York City and had an amazing time visiting friends and family; additionally, Mario was able to go trick-or-treating on Halloween in the States. We have very good friends who live in Jersey City, their son, Miles, is only a couple years older than Mario and we were able to spend a day with them in New Jersey. Mario loved taking the Path Train from the World Trade Center Train Station, “Oculus,” in downtown Manhattan which was designed by architect Santiago Calatrava and is a spectacular glass-and-steel structure. Mario also loved seeing the skyscrapers of New York City from New Jersey; he loves city sky lines and there are (in my opinion) few skylines in the world more impressive than New York City's. At our friends' home the boys played games on an X-Box together (Mario's first time playing video games and he thought it was pretty amazing); we also took a walk to a park where Mario & Miles kicked a soccer ball around and once again were able to get a front-seat-view of the New York City Skyline. It was our first day in New York, so we were all a little bit tired, but there is no better cure for getting through jet lag than spending time with friends.

Today is Petit-Swag's Four Year Anniversary and I wanted to take this moment to thank you for following Petit-Swag these past four years! I can hardly believe it has already been four years; I truly enjoy sharing my family's adventures while introducing you to brands and fashions I love for little ones. This blog is my favorite outlet for expressing what I love, and I am looking forward to more exciting years ahead with you.

Before beginning this years journey on Petit-Swag, I want to reflect back on my favorite Mario-Posts' because my favorite posts are of My Muse, Mario - and all of his adventures! Mario inspires me everyday to write, create, laugh, love and be the best mama and woman I can be.

It snowed in Düsseldorf last week and to simply say Mario was excited to play in the snow is a serious understatement! The snow was perfectly wet and fluffy, ideal for building a snowman and having a snowball fight. We had a blast running, playing, making snow angels and building a snowman (who Mario named Socky) together. Mario and I had a blast and it reminded me of playing in the snow when I was little in Minnesota. I enjoy seeing Mario so happy and knowing he is able to experience all weather and many cultures of this amazing planet that is our home. Then, later that evening it rained and as quickly as the snow came it was gone! We are still hoping for more snow before Christmas, though it looks like it will be a rainy and grey Christmas in Düsseldorf. However, It will be bright and cheerful in our home!

Merry Christmas and I hope you and your little ones have a bright day full of joy & love!